Why Fans Believe Taylor Swift Shaded Travis Kelce's Ex Kayla Nicole With a Gift to Teyana Taylor

The drama between Taylor Swift and Kayla Nicole shows no signs of slowing down, and now Teyana Taylor has been pulled into the mix.

The drama started after Taylor, 34, took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, October 14, to thank Swift, 35, for sending her a gift marking the singer’s 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl.

“Well hi! If you’re someone who has shown love, someone I admire and ultimately someone I’d want to celebrate with as we welcome ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ into the world,” Swift penned in a handwritten note. “I hope you like these gifts and record.”

Taylor thanked Swift for the present, writing as a caption, “Thank you Tay Tay!!”

Fans immediately saw Swift’s gift to Taylor as a subtle jab at Travis Kelce’s ex, Nicole, 33, who, interestingly enough, previously dated Taylor’s ex-husband, Iman Shumpert.

“Ohh some people don't get it yet but Taylor getting messy this era and I love it 🔥,” one user tweeted their reaction.

Meanwhile, another commenter added, “She only sent it because Teyana talked mess about Kayla😂😂😂when folks that don’t like you link up😂.”

“Some of yall are missing the real tea of this and why it’s so funny hahahaha,” a third quipped.

There’s a deeper link between Taylor and Nicole as the sports journalist once admitted the “craziest thing” she’d ever done in a relationship involved Shumpert, 35, prior to his marriage to Taylor.

“We weren’t in a relationship, but … I was dating a guy,” the model explained during an appearance on the “Unapologetically Angel” podcast in October 2024. “He dumped me through a text message … for this singer/actress who was famous at the time.”

Nicole recounted that Shumpert “lied about it for months” before the “iconic celebrity couple” went public.

“I [had] just moved to New York to, like, be with this person and move in with them,” she recalled. “It was a whole thing.”

The crazy part came when Nicole revealed she dressed as the woman that Shumpert “dumped” her for that Halloween. Although neither Shumpert nor Taylor was mentioned, fans quickly connected the dots when photos resurfaced of Nicole in a cropped gray tank, thong and knee pads, a look Teyana sported for Kanye West’s 2016 music video for “Fade.”

After the interview went viral, Taylor, who divorced Shumpert in July 2024, responded to Nicole’s comments in a since-deleted comment.

“I know 2025 gone hate to see a Taylor coming!! ❤️‍🔥🌹🎥🎬🎞️ 💸,” the "Bare Wit Me" singer wrote, referencing Swift. “F--- the iman part, l’m divorced and happily so, however her choice of words were very distasteful and uncalled for. Most importantly, she knew people would dig.”